“I’m very proud of our team today. I believe we pursued a lot of balls on defense and played with a lot of energy. We were also able to move past mistakes better than we have been, so it was great to see our growth and resilience there.

“The credit goes to everyone on the team. I felt like North Carolina was focused a lot on our outside and middle attacks and that gave us a chance to use our right side more. Grace [Rigsbee] and Cori [Clifton] played really aggressive and confident which led them to have a very efficient match.”

How it happened:

Things stayed close to start the first, reaching nine ties to a score of 16-16. Freshman Cori Clifton threw down a kill to put the Jackets ahead and sophomore Kodie Comby landed a service ace to turn the tide in Tech’s favor. Georgia Tech held on for the win at 25-19.

The Tar Heels rebounded in the second, using a 9-0 run to take command of the set early on for an 11-4 lead. The Jackets stayed resilient and came back within three at 23-20 but North Carolina sealed the set at 25-21.

It looked like the Tar Heels were about to take control in the third pulling ahead at 12-8, but Tech called a timeout and made good use of it, tallying four in a row to tie at 12-12. The teams stayed close from there, tying all the way to 23-23. A kill from senior Gabriela Stavnetchei gave Tech set point and with an attack error by the Tar Heels, pocketed the set at 25-23.

The final set was evenly matched. For every run the Tar Heels attempted, the Jackets responded. The two teams sat tied at 22-22. Clifton tallied her 18th kill of the match, a career high for the freshman, to put Tech ahead. The final two points came off the swing of Comby. The Tar Heels challenged the final point of the match but upon review the call was confirmed and the Jackets took the set at 25-22 for the 3-1 victory.

Up next:

Tech hits the road again, this time heading north to play Boston College on Oct. 6 before heading to Syracuse to face the Orange on Oct. 8.